


A Date to Remember

by starryeyeddreamer22



Category: Time Warp Trio (Cartoon)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Eventual Romance, Gen, Magic, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2019-09-28 18:21:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17188043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starryeyeddreamer22/pseuds/starryeyeddreamer22
Summary: Joe gets a crush on a new transfer student named Jacqueline, and after a bit of bonding (against Sam and Fred's wishes) he finally gets the nerve to ask her out. Joe plans to take her out on the best date ever, with a little help from The Book. However, his attempt to woo Jacqueline over, attracts some unwanted attention. Joe runs into two people searching for "something valuable" he owns and see Jacqueline as an obstacle in their way. Are they working for Mad Jack, or is something else going on?





	1. Joe's First Crush

**Chapter 1**

**2006, Brooklyn**

“... so to wrap up today’s lesson, can anyone explain to me the symbolism behind the color of the guest room our protagonist is staying in?”

Joe doodled in his notebook absent-mindedly, also avoided eye contact with the teacher. Not because he didn’t read the book. He did, sort of. He read the first chapter, but skimmed chapter two. It was interesting, but Joe didn’t understand why symbolism was so important. Okay, the guy’s room had a red carpet and red curtains. It’s obvious his sister-in-law wasn’t the best interior designer. English wasn’t Joe’s strongest subject, but it always focused on the strangest topics.

A few of the kids raised their hands. The teacher picked a girl with strawberry blonde hair and sat a few seats away from Joe.

“Miss…” The teacher picked up a clipboard containing the names of the students in the class. “Janowski, is it?”

“Yes, Mr. Smith.” said the strawberry blonde. “Deborah Janowski.”

“Okay, I just wanted to make sure I got your name right… we are starting a new school year and I have new names to recognize.” He fixed his glasses before nervously clearing his throat. “I’m getting off-track. Miss Janowski, can you please explain the color symbolism of the protagonist’s room in chapter two?”

Deborah began to explain what she knew about the color red and what the color symbolized, but Joe sighed and looked at the clock hanging at the front of the class. Fourth period was almost over, but Joe felt like it was taking forever for the class to end.

At least next period was lunch, and the school day would be halfway done. Who knew sixth grade was going to be tougher than he thought?

The bell rang and class was finally over. Joe packed up his things and made his way to his locker. He was still trying to get used to waking up early to go to school, doing homework for all of his classes, and navigating this big, new middle school. After completing fifth grade, he, alongside Sam and Fred, got placed in the same middle school alongside new and old classmates from their old school.

Joe still saw his friends frequently, but not as much as he used to. Luckily for the three of them, all three shared the same lunch period. Joe fixed his locker, put a textbook away, placed his English novels aside, and took out a language textbook for his Latin class. It was lighter than his other textbook, so he decided to put it inside his bookbag instead of carrying it around.

“Joe!”

He turned around and smiled when he saw Sam and Fred. He hadn’t seen them during most of the summer and it was great to see them again. Sam was accepted into a technology camp over in Boston and got to work with instructors from the best universities on the east coast. Fred signed up to be on the school’s football team, and had spent most of his summer training.

“Sam, Fred!” Joe high-fived Fred and tried to high-five Sam as well, but Sam’s attention was focused on a science magazine.

“You’re gonna keep Joe hanging, Sam?” said Fred, hoping he would look up and see Joe was trying to say hello to him.

“Wha - oh, sorry Joe.” Sam put away his magazine and half-heartedly high-fived Joe back. “I didn’t mean to do that, just got too interested in an article I was reading about.”

“No worries. It’s all right.” The crowded hallways starting to dwindle as students hurried to class before the bell would ring. “I guess I took too long for you guys to wait for me in the cafeteria?”

“Nope, Sam was busy talking with one of the science teachers and I just happened to meet up with him because my locker is on the same floor.” said Fred. The trio started to make their way downstairs to the first floor. “We decided to see if you were at your locker before heading to the cafeteria.”

“Well, thank you for escorting me to _le café_ …” Joe bowed to Sam and Fred, who chuckled at his sudden use of French pronunciation. “It’s nice to be strolling with my entourage, the bodyguard, and the geek.”

“Hey, why does Fred get to be the bodyguard but I’m just a geek? Why not diplomat or something cooler?” Sam protested.

“What kind of diplomat goes to science camp?” teased Fred, obviously making light of Joe’s error.

“Well, what kind of bodyguard goes to football camp?” asked Sam.

“Let’s save that question after we get our lunch,” Joe motioned to the entrance of the cafeteria. “I’m starving.”

**\--]**

The trio settled down in their usual lunch spot. While Fred attacked his lunch (as he usually did), Sam ate with more restraint. Joe pulled out his deck of cards and started to work on one particularly challenging card trick. Over the summer, he finally managed to perfect the card trick (with a little bit of help from Anna) and he was ready to show his friends his newfound mastery over the cards.

“Okay Fred, now pick a card” he said fanning out the deck towards him.

“Uh, not this again,” Fred complained with his mouth full of food, “Okay, I picked one. Now what?”

“Now put it back into the deck and watch me work my magic.” Joe smiled.

“I thought you grew out of card tricks,” Sam sniggered while eating his meal.

Joe made a face at Sam while Fred put back his card and Joe reshuffled the deck. “Well, that’s where you’re wrong, Sam! While you two were off in summer camp, I finally managed to master the cards!”

“Now with a few magic words, watch as I, Joe the Magnificent will… whoa!” Joe suddenly lost control of the deck of cards. Cards flew everywhere as students around the trio turned around to see why it was raining cards.

“Nice one, you managed to use your magic to make them fly everywhere at a ten foot radius.” Sam whispered at Joe went to pick up his cards.

“Here, I’ll help you out,” Fred wiped his hands with a napkin and went to help Joe pick up the rest of the cards.

“Um, excuse me…”

The soft, dulcet voice almost caught Joe off guard. But he turned around and saw a girl he had never seen before. She was walking with a group of girls he wasn’t too familiar with, but they went ahead, and she stayed behind. Her wide, doe-eyes full of curiosity.

“I think you dropped something.” She said, going down to pick up one of Joe’s cards.

Joe noticed how graceful she was. Almost like magic, she handed him the card between her fingers, and he lost his composure.

“Uh, th-th-thank you.” he stammered, finally able to form words. She waved goodbye and went back to join her group of friends. Fred joined Joe and the two made their way back to where Sam was sitting.

“What was that all about?” Fred asked him as soon as she was out of earshot.

“I... don’t know...” Joe said absentmindedly, his eyes following the girl who gave him the card.

Fred caught Joe staring at the girl and groaned. “Oh man, you can’t be serious!”

Sam peeked from his homework to see what was going on. “What’s going on?”

“Not me, Joe.” Fred sat down and pulled Joe to sit down as well. He seemed to be in a daze. “Some girl handed him one of the cards he dropped, and now his heads in the clouds.”

“Which one?”

“She’s the one hanging out with the cheerleaders.”

Sam turned to look where the girls were sitting, and he also caught a glimpse of the girl. She was sitting in the best strategy location of the cafeteria, reserved only for the most popular students.

“Wait, Joe’s into Jacqueline?” Sam whispered to Fred.

“Is that her name?” Joe asked dreamily. Fred and Sam looked at Joe, then at each other, and burst out laughing.

“Joe, I hate to break it to you. But I’m pretty sure Jacqueline is way out of your league.” Fred laughed. “It’s going to take more than pulling a rabbit out of a top hat to get her interest.”

“I have class with her.” Sam put away his magazine and rolled his eyes in annoyance. “Hate to break it to you Joe, but she’s fits in with those girls for a reason. She’s an absolute snob.”

“Have you even tried to talk to her?” Joe asked Sam, oblivious to what his friend said.

“No, but I’m sure of one thing Joe,” said Sam. “People like you and me aren’t popular. So I wouldn’t even try to waste my time on someone who thinks they’re better than me.”

That last comment did it. Angrily, Joe stood up and walked over to where Jacqueline was sitting. She was engaged in a lively conversation, but everyone stopped and turned to look at the stranger who approached their table. He could feel everyone sizing him up and judging, but he wasn't the socially-conscious type like Sam. Maybe it was a geek thing to have a chip on their shoulders about the popular crowd.

“Jacqueline?” He said standing behind her. She turned around and stood up.

“Yes?” she said.

Joe hadn’t realized how beautiful she looked up close. Her complex was a smooth light bronze and her long dark wavy hair cascaded past her shoulders. Her eyes were just as dark, wide and fringed with thick, dark eyelashes. Below her left eye was a beauty mark, and her full dewy lips were curved into a small slight smile. His train of thought was derailed, so entranced by Jacqueline's attractiveness. He lost his nerve.

“Hi.” He said weakly.

“Hi.” Jacqueline said sympathetically as everyone started to laugh at him.


	2. The Small Meeting Room

** Chapter 2 **

After Joe made a fool out of himself in front of the school (and Jacqueline), Sam and Fred ran up and dragged a dazed Joe back to their lunch table. It took a few minutes, but he finally came back to his senses. Fred told him what happened, and Joe internally cringed hearing how everyone else laughed at him simply for saying hi to Jacqueline. He wanted to look back and see if he could catch a glimpse of her but decided not to. He already ruined his first impression.

The three finished eating and had at least twenty minutes to spare before fifth period ended. No one really wanted to stay inside the cafeteria, much less Joe, Sam and Fred.

“Jeez, I’d never thought I’d say this, but lunch today is boring!” Fred balled up his custom-made sandwich and threw it into the trash. It went in flawlessly.

“Whoa, check out new talent here!” Someone hollered. That someone was Jim Sullivan, a seventh grader who played on the football team and very popular jock (or so they say).

“Dang Fred, you should’ve joined the basketball team! We could use your arm for killer slam dunks!” Another guy, one of the eighth-graders, cheered him on.

Fred smiled and playfully flexed for the crowd, but Joe and Sam both rolled their eyes at the blond’s shenanigans. Fred mingled enough with the jocks: talking to them, hanging out, and getting invited to parties; but he was starting to feel the immense pressure to “prove” himself to the upperclassmen. He was one of four sixth-graders to make it into the team, and he was chosen during the spring of fifth-grade. With the Homecoming game almost a month away, Fred was ready to finally show everyone his potential wasn’t beginner's luck. There was glory winning games, and he wanted to be a part of that, and what better way than to make a name for himself by playing in the Homecoming games?

Until he got to school and told glory was only a part of winning games. Coach Williams regularly informed the players he wanted them to put the same effort into their grades as they do training. Fred thought he said that for legal reasons. But then, he got into trouble for turning in an incomplete homework assignment in his Spanish class. Coach Williams came to talk to him in the morning during the homeroom period and told him he had this weekend to turn in the assignment completed, or else get benched for the next game.     

Realizing he could jeopardize himself if he didn’t complete the assignment on time, Fred motioned Joe and Sam to follow him. The trio got up and made their way outside the cafeteria.

“Hmm, where can we go until lunch ends?” Fred wondered.

“We could go to the school’s library and use the computers for a bit,” said Joe. “Just relax while fifth period ends.”

“Not a good idea considering what happened earlier this week.” said Sam. He whacked Fred on the arm with a rolled-up magazine. “Thanks to you, the librarians are always hovering over my shoulders when I use a computer!”

“Hey, if you’re gonna call me out, at least call Joe out too.” Fred smiled sheepishly. “He was also trying to get you to laugh; it wasn’t just me.”

“Uh, I’m pretty sure **you** were the one who showed me that comic strip. I laughed so hard the lemonade I was drinking shot out my nose and I got it on the keyboard!” Sam hung his head in embarrassment. “I’m surprised they even let me near a computer after that.”   

“ _We need a place where we can relax and have little to no teachers walking into our fun...”_ Joe thought to himself. “How about we go to the student lounge?”

“Nah, way too many people.” said Fred. “I’m sure all the best spots are taken already. No place to read or look out the window.”    

“Or... you don’t want to go to the Student Lounge because you know Deborah's gonna be there, waiting for you?” Sam arched his eyebrow in amusement.

“Shut up, Sam!”

“Well, I got no idea where we can go.” Joe exclaimed and shrugged his shoulders. “Those are the only two places I know where to hang out.”

“Oh, wait!” Sam pulled out his lanyard, containing his student ID and a set of keys. “Guys, look what I got!”

“Uh, house keys?” asked Fred, looking confused.

“Not just house keys, but a place where we can hang out and be at peace with ourselves...”

Fred was finally interested. “Go on.”

“I made school treasurer during the first week of school. SGA members get to carry around these keys and it gives us access to more rooms for important events. This one lets us inside the conference room. We have meetings there every Monday and Wednesday after school. This one is the brainstorming room, and this one is the meeting room. It holds up to five people and no more… perfect for three guys trying to find a great place to study in private.”   

“We can go into any of these rooms and not get yelled at by a teacher?”

Sam nodded. “As long as we don’t look suspicious or make too much noise.”

“I’m in!” said Fred, a grin on his face.

“Let’s head there right now. We probably have like fifteen minutes left until next period.” said Joe.

“Just enough time to give you guys a tour…” said Sam. He led the way to the small meeting room.

* * *

 

“So, what are you guys doing after school?” Joe asked Sam and Fred as they arrived at the small meeting room.

“I have to go to my student government meeting.” said Sam. “Plus, my weekend’s a little busy since I have a lot of studying to do.”

“Me too. But for me, it’s a little studying and a lot of football practice.” said Fred.

“Aw, I thought you guys would be free to play video games tonight. Anna’s gonna go to a slumber party, and the TV is free for us.”

“This meeting’s pretty important.” said Sam. “We have to figure out what we’re gonna do for Spirit Week, and that’s only a month away.”  

“But you said you guys meet up on Mondays and Wednesdays.”

“Our president wasn’t able to make it on Wednesday, so we’ve decided to meet up today.” Sam turned the key, but the door didn’t open. “Huh, it usually opens after I turned the key.”

“Maybe you need to turn the key _and_ the door handle.” said Fred over Sam’s shoulder. “Or you’re using the wrong key.”

Sam did what Fred suggested and the door opened. The small meeting room was about the size of half a classroom. There was one table in the middle, and a few chairs stacked in the upper right of the room. A much longer table was placed against the wall on the left side of the room. There were snacks, binders lined up in a row, books stacked high in the corner and boxes filled with school memorabilia.

“We haven’t cleaned this place up yet.” Sam set his backpack down and went to find some chairs. “But we got snacks here in case we get hungry.”

“Cool, this is way better than the library!” Fred tossed his backpack to the side and sat on one of the chairs Sam brought over. “If you need me to hold your keys while you’re gone, I’m your man.”

“Or... you guys can come after school and see how the student government plans out events,” Sam pulled up another chair and sat down. “The Decorations Committee is always looking for more involved students to help out for school events.”

“Nah, I don’t think Coach Williams would let me.” Fred slumped in his chair. “I got in trouble with one of the teachers over missing homework assignments.”

“Was it your Spanish teacher?” asked Joe, sitting down next to Fred.

“No!” Fred paused and his face fell a little. “I mean... yeah. I sort've forgot I had to do some textbook activities. It’s just one lousy assignment and I’m already getting in trouble over it!”   

“Why didn’t you write it down in your planner? The school passes them out for free during the first week of class.” Sam got up and made his way to the table filled with boxes. “I think we might have some here, let me look around.”

“I didn’t know you were taking a Spanish class, Fred…” Joe pulled out his house keys from the back of his jean pocket and tossed them inside his backpack. “But more importantly, why are you taking a Spanish class?”

“My advisor said it would be an easy class for me. It’s mostly vocabulary mixed in with sentences.” Fred fixed his baseball cap and turned it around. “Math and science are already hard enough. If I let my grades slip, I might not be able to play for the big game next month!”

“You can go to the tutoring center after school today for some help.” Sam called out from inside a box.

“Practice might stretch a little longer today. Besides, it’s a Friday and I don’t want to spend my Friday night studying after getting rocked from practice.”

“Hey Fred, if after school doesn’t work, you could always ask ‘you-know-who’ for a little bit of help,” Joe elbowed Fred in the chest. “She knows fluent Spanish and has enough patience to help someone like you with your homework…”

“You mean ask Rosa?” Fred eyed Joe with mild annoyance. “I mean, I could ask her if she’s okay helping me on Saturday, I don’t know.”

“Wait, Rosa Espinoza?” Sam came back holding a brand-new planner for Fred. “She’s in student government as our secretary.”

“You want Sam to ask her if she can tutor you in your Spanish homework?” Joe asked the blond.

“It’s not that it’s hard, I just forgot I had Spanish homework.”

“Maybe if she was in class with you, you’d always remember to do your homework.” Joe winked at Fred.

“Joe don't start this again…” Fred lowered his voice.

“I’m not starting anything; you like Rosa, don’t you?”

“Yes, but that’s because she’s my friend!”

“Like Deborah?” Sam raised his eyebrow at Fred. “She’s always complimenting you, following you around, and when she isn’t doing both, she’s always giving you food she cooks. She never leaves you alone, but you sure like the attention.”

“Deborah is also just a friend.” Fred shot back. “What? A guy can’t have platonic friendships with girls?”

“Okay then, just to even the score for getting on my case because I tried to talk to Jacqueline.” Joe got up from his seat and looked at Fred in the eye. “I dare you to ask Rosa if she’s free to help you with your Spanish homework. If you manage to do it without looking like a dunce, I’ll back off. But if you mess up, I’m not gonna say you totally like her… BUT there’s something going on!”

“Phhtt, you call that ‘getting even’?” Fred dismissed Joe’s dare with a wave of his hand. “I’m not like you Joe, I don’t lose my nerve when talking to girls.”

“Yes you do! You lose your nerve when you’re around her!”

“I do not!”

“You do too!”

“I said this once and I’ll say it again.” Fred’s blue eyes looked Joe’s dark brown ones. “Rosa and I are just friends. She doesn’t have a crush on me, and I don’t have a crush on her.”  

Joe and Sam looked at each other and smirked.

“I’d better get ready for my next class. I can’t afford to get on my Spanish teacher’s bad side again.” Fred sighed and took the planner out of Sam’s hand. “Thanks for the spare planner; hopefully this will keep me on top of all my homework assignments.”

The sound of keys jingling, and the door unlocking made Joe, Sam and Fred freeze on the spot. The door opened, and there stood a girl with strawberry blonde hair, and another girl with short black hair and tan skin wearing a white lace headband.

“Deborah, I thought you said the meeting room would be empty.” The dark-haired girl whispered to the strawberry blonde.

“I thought so too, Rosa. I guess not…”

“Sorry, it’s kinda my fault we’re here…” Fred stepped forward towards the two girls. “I wanted to see the student government rooms, and Sam agreed to show us. But don’t worry! We’re about to leave now...”    

“Oh no!” Deborah stepped in front of Rosa and placed her hands behind her back. She leaned forward and smiled coyly towards Fred. “I think it’s wonderful that you’re interested in SGA. I wish jocks were more open-minded like you."

“Don’t get too embarrassed Fred,” Rosa lugged a duffle bag and her backpack inside. “I just came here to leave my duffle bag. I have soccer practice after school.”

“You mean you’re not coming to the SGA meeting?” asked Sam, looking at Rosa.

Rosa shrugged her shoulders. “I left the paperwork in the conference room. You guys will be fine without me. Deborah’s gonna fill me in later.”

“But you know how Tiffany gets when SGA members aren't present in the meetings.”

“She’s always letting her cheerleader friends in anyway. Which isn’t following protocol, but she’s Vice President and that’s somehow not breaking the rules...” Rosa sounded more exasperated than her usual sweet, reserved self. She pulled out a binder filled with papers and placed it on the table. “This binder is filled with all the potential ideas we can use for Spirit Week. I hope you also brought your binder too, Sam. The more ideas the better.”

“I’ll talk to Tiffany on Monday. Nancy said it was okay for me to skip the meeting.” Rosa put on her backpack and walked out the door. “I’ll see you guys next week!”

“Uh…  hey Rosa, wait up!” Fred called after Rosa. She stopped and stood at the doorway.

“I haven’t seen you in a couple of days, Rosa.” Fred quickly pushed Deborah away and stood next to Rosa. “You look different…”

“She got a haircut,” said Deborah, composing herself after Fred brushed her away. “Doesn’t she look so chic and sporty?”

“I guess,” said Fred absentmindedly. “I’m so used to you wearing your hair in a ponytail though…”

“It’s a bit of a long story,” Rosa avoided Fred’s gaze, and self-consciously tugged at her hair. “I’m still trying to get used to it.”  

“Hey, I’m not saying you look bad!” Fred tried to reassure her. “I think it suits you!”

“Really?”     

Joe cleared his throat loudly behind Fred, and Fred gave him a dirty look. He turned back around and nodded at Rosa.

“Yeah, you look great!”

Rosa smiled and bashfully looked away from Fred, and Fred took off his hat to scratch his hair. He looked back to see Joe and Sam pointing at Rosa so he could ask her for help, and Fred decided to get this over with. He didn’t care what Joe or Sam said. He was just being a good, supportive friend. If Rosa was able to help him or not, that didn’t mean she was into him like that. What are friends for? 

“Hey Rosa, I wanted to ask something before you go,” Fred turned back to speak with her.

“Shoot.” she replied. “I’m all ears.”

“I was wondering if you’d be able to help me out with my Spanish homework. I forgot to do some vocabulary, and Coach Williams doesn’t like it if our grades slip.” Fred felt his mouth go stiff. “Do you wanna meet up at Ray’s this Saturday afternoon?”

“Of course! Is 12:30 PM a good time?”

“Yeah, practice will over by then!”

“Great, I’ll see you tomorrow at 12:30!” Rosa smiled at Fred and walked out of the meeting room.  

Deborah looked at Rosa’s back for a moment and then turned to Fred. “You know, if you’re having problems with your history homework, I can help!”

“Ah, don’t worry Deborah!” Fred wrapped his arms around Joe’s and Sam’s shoulders. “Joe covers all history, and Sam helps me with science and math.”

“That’s good! I was… just offering help in case you needed it.” Deborah laughed nervously as her face started to flush from embarrassment. “But I guess all you need is Rosa’s help.”  

“It’s his Spanish homework,” Joe winked at Fred. “He’s in good hands whenever Rosa’s around.”

“I hope your study date goes well!” said Deborah, smiling a little too hard. “I better get going, class is about to end.”

The trio said goodbye to Deborah and both girls left. Joe went to pick up his cards and Fred strolled up to him and slammed his hand on the table with an accomplished smile.

“For the record Joe; that’s how you talk to a girl without looking like a loser. I didn’t even stutter once.”

“Okay Fred, you win this time.” said Joe, putting on his backpack. “Just don’t forget to tell us what happened after your date with Rosa.”

“It’s **NOT** a date!”

“Whatever you say, lover-boy…”

The bell rang, and fifth period was finally over.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the really long wait, I was at a crossroads in where to start the chapter. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for all the comments, kudos and hits!


	3. An Unexpected After School Introduction

**Chapter 3**

Most of the students in the school had already headed home for the day, except for the athletes, the band kids, those involved in after-school activities, and the others who stayed after school to work on homework either in the tutoring center or in the library. Joe knew he wasn’t going to do any homework once he got home from school, so he decided to study in the library after class ended. The library wasn’t really busy; it was barely the start of a new school year, and a Friday night.      

An hour had passed and Joe finally completed his math homework. Feeling accomplished, Joe took out his cell phone and quickly sent Sam a message:

 **Guess who's doing hw on a friday night?**  

The squeaky wheels of the librarian’s book cart alerted Joe and he hid his cell phone under his Math notebook. Once she passed, Joe relaxed and debated on what to do next. He thought about doing his science homework now, or wait until Saturday so he could ask Sam for help. Then the worst thing happened. His cell phone vibrated on the table.

Some people looked around, wondering who was making that noise. Out of the corner of his eye, Joe could feel the head librarian eyeing Joe in discontent. Remembering the lemonade fiasco, Joe quietly collected his things and scampered out the library as fast as he could.

Outside in the hallway, Joe went to check his cell phone. It stopped vibrating, and Joe saw that there was a missed call from his mom. He had sent his mom a text message before going into the library saying he’d be coming home later, but Joe’s mom found texting to be “more work” than hitting speed dial on the phone. Instead of texting back, she would call. Joe wished she would just text back; the school staff would get angry if a student was calling their parents to let them know if they needed to be picked up from school. Most students found texting to be a better way to communicate.    

Joe dialed in his mom’s number, and after a few rings, she picked up.

“Hey mom,” said Joe. “Sorry I couldn’t answer, I was busy doing homework.”

“I thought you could use your phone after school ended.”

“Maybe if I was studying in the Tutoring Center,” said Joe, rolling his eyes in annoyance. “But I was in the library, and they’re not okay with us using our cell phones.”

“Oh, I’m sorry! I thought you were studying with Sam at the Tutoring Center.” Joe’s mom apologized. “I ran into Sam’s mom at the supermarket the other day and she was so proud that Sam volunteered at the school’s tutoring center. He’s such a bright boy.”

“Sam couldn’t tutor today. He’s wrapped up with student government stuff.” Joe slung his book bag over his shoulder and started to walk up to the third floor where his locker was. “I might see Sam tomorrow for some help on my science homework.”

“Well, I just want you to know that I’m going to drop Anna to her friend’s house for the slumber party. You have your house keys, right Joe?”

“Don’t worry mom, of course, I have my house keys.” Joe dug into his jean pockets for his keys, but they were empty.

“Okay honey. I’ll see you at home,” said his mom as Joe switched the phone from one hand so he could dig into his other jean pocket. “Bye Joe.”

“Bye, mom.”  

Joe hung up and sat down on the stairs, contemplating what to do next about his missing keys. _“If they’re not in my pockets, they must be somewhere in my backpack or locker. But I’m not sure which one…”_ Joe thought to himself. Luckily for him, his locker wasn’t too far away from where the stairs were. He opened his locker and started his search for his house keys.

Joe wasn’t the most organized guy in the world, but even he knew he wasn’t on Fred’s level of cluttered. So why couldn’t he find his keys in the locker? After a fruitless search, Joe sighed in frustration and started to toss his things on the floor. Textbooks, the gym bag carrying his gym uniform, the binder that carrying all his notes and handouts for his biology class, practically everything.

Joe felt his phone vibrate and knew that it was a text message from someone. He leaned against his locker and looked to see who the message was from. Sam had replied to his text from earlier.

**I’m surprised you’re doing homework without me asking you.**

Joe chuckled but knew Sam wasn’t wrong. Sam was the one who stayed on top of all his homework assignments. Joe would remember he’d have homework, but sometimes complete it. Fred was constantly in the dark about his assignments, he’d be the last one to know and his work reflected it.

 **Is the meeting over or are you guys taking a break?** Joe texted Sam back and put his phone away. He crouched down and started to pick up all of his things from the floor. His keys were not in his locker, so they must be in his backpack. Joe felt his phone vibrate again. He set his things down and opened the message Sam sent him.

**We’re taking a break. We spent 20 mins arguing on what to do for homecoming**

**_Really?_ **Joe texted back, suddenly engrossed with what Sam was telling him.

**Yeah, it’s so ridiculous. I can’t wait to leave.**

**_What’s going on there?_ **

Sam didn’t reply back to his text message, so Joe thought he must've gone back to the meeting, or upset with what was going on. Joe put his phone away and went back to searching for his keys. He opened up his backpack and emptied all of its contents. Joe was starting to get desperate until he saw the shiny keys poking out from the piles of notebooks, folders, papers, and school supplies. He grabbed his keys and places them in his other jeans pocket.

Joe breathed a sigh of relief and sat on the ground. He spent ten minutes panicking over his misplaced keys, but now that he found them, he was at ease. His phone vibrated again, and Joe pulled his cell phone out to read what Sam had sent him.

**I got to go back, but I’ll tell you later. We argued about a lot of things.**

“ _Ugh, you can’t tell me right now, Sam?”_ Joe wanted to text Sam what he thought, but maybe Sam was a little too preoccupied (and stressed) with what was going on. Joe texted back his reply:  

**_You gotta tell Fred too. We’ll do a three-way call tonight._ **

**Deal**

**_Talk to you later Sam._ **

Joe looked back on his mess and grimaced. Cleaning it up would take some time, so he got to work. As time passed, Joe’s entire focus was set on organizing and filing everything. Now that everything was neatly put away, Joe could finally go home. This time, he made sure not to lose track of his keys, by holding them in his hand. His cellphone was in his pocket instead.  

Joe shut his locker’s door and started to make his way towards the stairs until he saw someone out of the corner of his eye. Joe would’ve shrugged off whatever it was, but oddly enough, he felt… _drawn towards_  it. Gripping the railing, Joe took a step, but he couldn’t move further. He didn’twant to take another step. He looked to see who was standing at the end of the corridor and his jaw dropped.

Either it had to be a coincidence or by sheer luck, Joe couldn’t believe it. At the end of the hallway stood Jacqueline. She didn’t seem to notice his presence; instead, all of her attention was focused on what was outside the window.  

“ _Wait. Does she even know I’m here? Or was my locker door blocking her view?_ ” Joe thought to himself. Even though Joe was glad to see Jacqueline again, he didn’t want her to think he was some sort of creep following her. It would be best to head home so his mom wouldn’t call him again and ask where he was. Joe turned to leave, but his fingers fumbled and he dropped his keys. They fell to the ground with a loud jingle.       

She turned around and looked a little surprised. She tilted her head to the side as if she was trying to recognize him from somewhere. She gave a small smile and called out to Joe with a lilting voice.     

“I see you dropped something there…”

“Yeah, my house keys.” Joe picked them up and flashed her an awkward smile. “I promise I’m not this clumsy. Today’s been an off-day for me.”

“It happens to the best of us,” she flipped her thick dark hair over her shoulder. “But at least it only keys you have to pick up and not a deck of cards, right?”

“Yikes, you remember that?” Joe replied as he walked closer to her, so they wouldn’t have to yell.  

“Of course! My friends couldn’t stop laughing about your little _faux pas_.”

“Ouch. You just keep rubbing it in.” Joe pretended he was doubling over in pain, and Jacqueline gave a small giggle. “I get it. I’m a lousy magician.”

“Oh hush now!” Jacqueline playfully slapped Joe’s shoulder. “I said my friends laughed about it; not me! I’m not as easily amused at other people’s blunders!”

She looked back at the window for a moment and took a few steps. Since she wasn’t paying attention, her foot got caught in her bag strap and she stumbled forward. She cried out in surprise and Joe rushed over to grab Jacqueline so she could steady herself.

“Oh, _merci beaucoup_!” Jacqueline’s melodic voice filled his ears. “I mean, thank you for catching me...”

“No problem, I got you.” Joe gave her a small mischievous look as he held her. “But I see I’m not the only one who’s dropping things.”

Jacqueline’s face fell a little as she surveyed the mess. All of her books and notes were strewn on the ground. She was so distracted that she didn’t bother to place her books into her school satchel. It was going to take forever to fix them. Margaux would not be happy about this. She broke away from Joe’s grasp and started to collect her things.

“Like I said, ‘ _it happens to the best of us_ ’...” she coolly replied, her once warm demeanor now distant.

“ _Really Joe? THAT’S the best thing you could think of?_ ” Joe mentally chewed himself out as he attempting to help collect her things.

“Here, let me help.”

“It’s okay, I got it under control…” Jacqueline quickly snatched the papers from Joe’s hands and placed them inside her books.    

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to make fun of you.” Joe collected the last of her papers and the two got up at the same time. The sunlight gave her an ethereal glow, but it was nothing compared to how beautiful her eyes were, even if she eyed him cautiously. Joe caught himself staring at her again, and cleared his throat.     

“So, um...I see you like to read a lot...” Joe rubbed the back of his neck and handed her back the books.

“I do.” she takes the books from Joe’s hands and places them inside what he assumed was her backpack. It looked like a big fancy designer purse. “Reading is my favorite pastime. But not many people are interested in literature, so I keep it to myself.”

“Oh, I thought these were for school!”  

“Some of them are. Others I brought from home. I have to be certain l I have everything before leaving. Émile wouldn’t be too happy if he had to drive me back to school during rush hour. I don’t want Margaux to scold me again over schoolwork.”

“Émile and Margaux?”

“ _Mon chauffeur et gouvernante_ ,” she said, looking out at the window again. “They have worked with my family for years, and are my most trusted household staff members.”

“Wait, you have a private chauffeur and a _gouer - governan_ \- what?”

“I keep forgetting I’m not in _Montréal_ anymore; French is the official language there.” Jacqueline tugged at her ear lobe. On her wrist, she wore a rose gold charm bracelet, it twinkled in the sunlight. “ _Une gouvernante_ is a governess. She’s my guardian for the time being. Margaux worries for my safety, so per her’s orders, Émile takes me wherever I need to go.”

“So you’re rich? That’s so cool!”

“I’m from an old money family in France. But I was raised in _Montréal_.”  

“Old Money? That means like… blue blood or nobility? I bet you have servants and staff waiting on you hand and foot. Prestigious private schools, luxurious private villas, fancy cars... I can’t imagine how awesome it is being super rich!”

“I guess...” Jacqueline shifted her weight from one foot to another, looking rather uncomfortable again. “My friends have a terrible habit of comparing what they bought and private villas as if having more makes them a better person. But it’s exhausting if all you talk about is money. I know my family is quite wealthy, I don’t need to be reminded of that every single day.”  

Joe felt his cheeks turn red from embarrassment. “Sorry, I made you uncomfortable again, didn’t I?”

“Oh _non non_ !” Jacqueline placed her hand on his shoulder. “I’m not upset at you, just a little _épuisé_ from all the pointless chit-chat my friends indulge in.”  

“Oh man, I get that feeling all the time!” said Joe. “Whenever Sam keeps going on and on about his inventions or all the random facts he knows. I also annoy them with my party tricks!”

“At least party tricks are entertaining!” Jacqueline’s aloof demeanor started to defrost and she mellowed out again. “I don’t think I got your name, you are…”

“I’m Joseph, Joseph Arthur. But my friends call me Joe.”  

“A pleasure to meet you, Joseph.” Jacqueline shook Joe’s hand. “I am Jacqueline Renée Clairmont.”

“You don’t have to call me Joseph, it’s too formal. Joe’s fine.” Joe still held her hand in his even though they stopped shaking hands.

“I thought only your friends call you Joe.” Jacqueline eyed him in confusion.

“Well, you can consider yourself a friend of mine. If you’re okay with having me as a friend...”

“Okay, Joe it is.” She let go of his hand and turned to look outside the window. Joe realized he didn’t have anything else to say, so he too looked outside the window with her.  

Joe had only met Jacqueline a few hours before, but suddenly, he felt as if they both knew each other from somewhere else. Jacqueline was so out of his league, but here, she was so down-to-earth, even if she was a little standoffish. He didn’t belong to her group (the super rich and popular kids), and he loved hanging out with everyone and doing magic tricks. A silence filled the air, but it was one of understanding. It wasn’t awkward or negative. It was just the two of them, starting out of the window, looking down into the school courtyard.

“I love the view here, it’s so quiet and peaceful,” Joe spoke up, trying to get her to speak again.

“Yes, it’s beautiful in all its simplicity…” she breathed but kept her eyes focused outside the window.

A group of guys were running laps around the school property, and for a moment, Joe could’ve sworn he saw Jacqueline step forward as if she was attempting to reach out towards someone. However, she hesitated and stepped back.

Her phone started to ring. She took one look at the caller ID and sighed. “One moment, please,” Jacqueline answered the phone and Joe stepped aside to let her handle her affairs. Her eyes softened and her gaze fell to the floor as the person on the other line kept talking.

“ _Oui_ , I’ll be outside.” Jacqueline hung up and sighed sadly. “I’m sorry, I have to go. Émile is waiting for me outside.”       

“Well, it was nice meeting you, Jacqueline. I’ll see you next week.”            

Jacqueline flipped her hair, giving him a dazzling smile and waved. “It was nice meeting you too _Joseph…”_

Hearing her say his name one last time turned him into jelly. He was practically on cloud nine the whole bus ride home from school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been pretty inactive due to real life responsibilities and issues on how to work this fanfic. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy this chapter.


	4. Goodnight, Sleep Tight

** Chapter 4 **

She wasn’t the brightest in her history class, Jacqueline knew that. But perhaps that was because the history class she was forced to take was about American history. This was a new country, with an entirely different historical past. She spent six of her eleven years in Montréal, which was a little easier to get situated since French is the official language. English was also acceptable, but most of the population preferred French. However, Margaux had different plans and had her learn English almost immediately after she arrived at Montréal. English was quite difficult to learn, but her tutors were the best money could buy. Or so Margaux told her.      

Was it necessary to know the names of ALL the presidents? Was that a thing in the States? Jacqueline ran a hand through her thick, wavy dark hair and sighed in frustration. She had been flipping through the pages of the first two chapters of her history textbook, trying to take down notes for each section the chapter had. The teacher wanted everyone to read the chapter, take down notes to practice their notetaking for high school (secondary school everywhere else in the world) and then review the information the following day.

Reading historical texts was not a problem for Jacqueline, but she didn't know what important information was and what wasn't. Plus, it didn’t help that she forgot to read the first chapter and was lost on what was going on. Earlier this week, she went to the tutoring center for some help. One of the tutors was in her history class. Was it Samuel or Simon, she couldn't remember which name. He was eager to teach her, but he would stop at one point and keep going and going and then go on a tangent until she'd reel him back to the question, she asked him about. Afterward, his explanations got annoying and she started to tune him out and work on her notes alone.

If that wasn't bad enough, she accidentally agreed to meet up with him on Saturday morning to go over the notes and clear up any misconceptions. She decided to read over the chapters as much as possible and then take notes. As if notetaking wasn’t enough, the teacher also passed out a worksheet packet for each chapter.  

She finished the first chapter and flipped the page to the second one: “The Planting of English America” As she skimmed through the text, her eyelids started to feel heavy. In a few minutes, Margaux would be knocking at her door, telling her it's time for bed. She was only half-way done with the readings and needed to keep focus. The last thing she wanted was to sit through another tutoring session of nothing but Simon’s hard-to-follow tangents.

She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and went back to concentrating on the readings. She was making good progress until she heard noise coming from outside her balcony window. At first, she thought it was tree branches scraping against the windowpane. But the more she listened, the more she realized it wasn’t the sound of tree branches, it sounded as if something was tapping her window.   

_Tap Tap._

_Tap tap tap._

_Tap Tap._

_Tap tap tap._

She glanced at the window where the noise was coming from. Its lavender curtains were drawn in, and she couldn’t see much. She simply shrugged and turned back to her studies. But the more Jacqueline listened to the tapping, the more it sounded as if someone or _something_ was trying to get her attention.  

The tapping started to become more frantic. This time, she was sure it was trying to get her attention.

_Taptaptap_

_Taptaptaptap_

_Taptaptap_

_Taptaptaptap_

“What on earth?” She said to herself. She got up and walked towards the window. Now it was louder and faster than ever. This time, it was tapping nonstop.  

_Taptaptaptaptapataptaptap_

Jacqueline gripped the curtains, nervous at who was doing the strange tapping but already annoyed by it. She pulled open the curtains to see…

Nothing. Nothing at all. Jacqueline, still not satisfied with her discovery, opened the windows and a cool breeze blew into the room. Observing her balcony, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Maybe it was the tree branches, her room had the best view of the backyard’s garden, and there were trees near her balcony. Perhaps she was just a little anxious, she wasn't too keen on seeing that condescending geek Samuel on a Saturday morning.

Jacqueline rested her arms on her balcony, took a deep breath in and exhaled. The cool fresh air calmed her nerves down a bit, and she spent a few minutes just listening to the crickets and frogs sing their song. She heard a flutter of wings and saw a black raven perched on the balcony next to her. It’s sleek, dark plumage almost camouflaging into the pitch black of night.

“Ah, _Bonsoir monsieur Corbeau_ …” Jacqueline gave a small smile to the raven, who was preening itself, not paying her any mind. “Was that you making all that racket at my window?”

The raven stopped preening itself to look at her and blinked in confusion before going back to grooming itself.

“ _Non, c'est impossible_!” Jacqueline muttered to herself, crossing her arms over her chest and eyed the raven. “As if some bird brain was capable of giving me such a fright!”

The bird gave a small ‘kraw’ as if replying to Jacqueline’s belittling comment. He remained fixated on her, stretching his wings before pecking his feet.

“Go on, I have tutoring early in the morning and I need to focus.” She swatted the raven and he flapped away, cawing loudly. “ _Bonne soirée monsieur Corbeau!_ ”

The raven angrily cawed before flying away. Jacqueline, satisfied she chased away the trickster bird, breathed a sigh of relief. There was a light knock at her door.

“ _Jacqueline_ ,” Margaux’s voice came from behind the closed door. “ _C'est l'heure de dormir…_ ”      

“ _Je vais, je vais, Margaux._ ” Jacqueline replied and walked back to her room. The door opened and Margaux stepped inside.

Margaux was a French woman well into her fifties, who’d been with Jacqueline all her life as her governess and legal guardian whenever her father would go on his long business trips. She was a tall, pale, plain woman; the only striking thing about her was her shiny black eyes. Her hair was also black and shiny, but age was turning it gray. She always carried her duties without a problem and was always civil and polite. She was the perfect governess, and Jacqueline could see now why her father chose Margaux.

“Jacqueline!” Margaux exclaimed in surprise. “Why are the balcony doors open?”

“Oh, I heard a noise outside and couldn’t concentrate on my homework.” Jacqueline walked towards her desk, while Margaux brushed past her and slammed the doors shut.

“You should’ve told one of the household staff to go out and investigate! There is no need for you to play detective and see what was making that weird noise.” Margaux pulled the curtains shut and looked at the younger girl with a hint of disapproval.

“It wasn’t anything dangerous, just a bird tapping at my window.”

“ _Un oiseau? ¿En la nuit?_ ”

“ _Oui, en la nuit._ ” Jacqueline flipped through her notes and sat back down at her desk. “I scared him off for playing tricks on me.”

“Nocturnal birds don’t usually play tricks; they mostly sing or hunt.” Margaux pulled the curtain a little to look outside. “What kind of bird was it, and what kind of tricks did it play?”

Jacqueline sighed in exasperation. “Does it really matter Margaux? It was just some bird that was tapping at my window and I scared it off! It’s not like someone was trying to hurt me, I barely know anyone in this _affreux_ place!”

A shadow crossed the older woman’s face, but it disappeared in a flash. “I just wanted to know in case it was a serious matter, _Mademoiselle Clairmont_ , but I see it was nothing to worry about. _Bonne nuit Mademoiselle Clairmont_.” Margaux bowed her head and closed the door.

Jacqueline sat in her chair for a bit, pondering what Margaux said to her. She eyed the closed balcony doors and then turned her gaze to her textbook.

She got up, open the balcony doors, turned off the desk lamp and went to sleep.

* * *

 

With Jacqueline deep in slumber, her mind was far away from the waking world. She dreamed of happier times, of nostalgic times, and of her family.

But this time, the dream was not a happy one.

She tossed and turned, kicked in her sleep. Mumbling about something and sounding confused.

The raven from earlier was back, and now he had brought friends. Eight pairs of beady eyes watched the girl toss and turn in her sleep; now certain she wasn’t dreaming anymore.

She was having a nightmare.

A tall dark figure appeared from the shadows, slowly coming closer and closer towards the bed. It hovered over Jacqueline as she slept; she was trying to wake up from her nightmare but couldn’t.

Finally, she opened her eyes and saw the dark, faceless figure peering over her. She opened her mouth and screamed.

 

* * *

 

Joe woke up in a cold sweat, his heart pounding and his breathing shallow. He looked around his room and saw nothing out of the ordinary. He laid back in bed, taking deep breaths to calm down. He was finally able to go back to sleep, but there was one question that lingered in the back of his mind as he slowly slipped back into a peaceful slumber:

Who was that dark figure hovering over Jacqueline while she was asleep? And why did Joe feel like they’ve seen each other before?  


	5. Lunch with Friends

**Chapter 5**

“So, while it **is** tempting to add the letter _o_ or _a_ at the end of every word to make it more Spanish-sounding…” said Rosa as she grabbed a chicken wing. “The truth is, ‘ _cenar_ ’ is the right word for dinner in Spanish. Not ‘ _dinero_ ’. _Dinero_ means money.”

Fred and Rosa sat across from each other, pencils, notebooks, worksheets and textbooks all over the table. Rosa got them a booth with a window seat and placed the orders while she waited for Fred to come over after practice. She ordered boneless chicken wings, parmesan fries, a large pizza with extra cheese and pepperoni, and a little dessert for herself. Something extra for herself to indulge in after waiting for Fred to arrive. Ray’s was better known for their pizza, but their desserts were quite good too.    

“Yeah, but with all the Mexican restaurants I go to, can you really blame me if I thought asking for dinner was the same as asking for money?” Fred grabbed another slice of extra pepperoni pizza and took two huge bites. “They understand me whenever I’d order.”  

“‘ _Yo quiero cenar_ ’, would get you better results instead of saying ‘ _yo quiero dinero_ ’ to the waiter.” she dipped the wing in ranch sauce before taking a bite. “Do you still have any more questions, Fred?” 

“Um…” Fred covered his mouth as he chewed and skimmed through his textbook. “Vocabulary, greetings and common phrases… I think that’s it!” 

“See, it wasn’t so bad!” Rosa playfully punched him on the arm. “ _Ya ves, no te rajes_!”  

“I’m going to assume that means that I’m killing it in my Spanish homework.” Rosa arched her eyebrows at Fred. “Obviously, with a little help from you, Rosa.” 

“It’s nothing; you know I don’t have a problem helping out my friends.”

“Speaking of friends…” said Fred as he looked out the window, catching a glimpse of a familiar head with long strawberry blonde hair. “Here she comes right now…” 

The bells jingled, signaling another customer has entered Ray’s. Fred’s suspicions were true; the strawberry blonde strolling through the street was Deborah. She scanned the restaurant until she saw Rosa and Fred. Rosa saw her first and waved at her to come over. Deborah practically skipped over to where the two were sitting.  

“Fred, Rosa! What a surprise!” exclaimed Deborah with a smile. “I didn’t think I’d find you here at Ray’s after 12:30 PM.”

“Yup, what a coincidence…” Fred mumbled under his breath and grabbed a bunch of fries before stuffing them in his mouth. "Anyways, nice to see you, Debbie."

Deborah tried to sit next to Fred, but Rosa grabbed her arm and pulled her to where she was sitting. “Fred didn’t want to sit with me because his football gear needed a place to stay. There’s no more room on Fred’s side but his football stuff and himself.”

“I came over to see if Fred was struggling with his Spanish homework.” Deborah gave a teasing grin and eyed Fred, now sitting directly across from him. "I hope I'm not too late…" 

“The thing is, Rosa and I already finished going over my homework. I thought it was going to take a while, but it didn’t.” Fred put his things back into his backpack. “We’re going to finish eating this food and I’m gonna go hang out with Joe and Sam later. Rosa’s going to go back and help her uncle with the gym.” 

“Oh,” Deborah’s cheeks flushed from embarrassment. “I - I knew that! I was just playing with you Fred, no harm done!” 

“None taken.” said Fred as he started to move his notebooks and papers away, carefully trying not to get grease on them. “So, what brings you to Ray’s? I’d thought you’d be helping at your grandma’s bakery on Saturday afternoons.” 

“I don’t help at the bakery unless asked to. I **visit** my grandma on Saturday afternoons after my mom and me clean up the house.” Deborah pulled out a box with Polish words on them. “Guess what my cousins brought me; _ptasie mleczko_!”   

“You got those again!” said Rosa as she watched Deborah open up the box. “Yes, I love those candies so much!” 

“What the heck is that?” Fred leaned over to see what Deborah and Rosa were gushing over.

“ _Ptasie mleczko_ , chocolate covered candies with a marshmallow center.” She turned to Rosa and offered her some. “It’s vanilla bean flavored, is that okay? I know you love the strawberry ones.”

“Hey, all _ptasie mleczko_ is good _ptasie mleczko_. It brings me back when we were studying at St. Agnes.” 

“St. Agnes? Oh, the elementary school you two used to go to.” Fred shook his head. “I don’t know why your parents didn’t send you to a regular school like everyone else.”   

“Well, Rosa’s dad was a part of the school staff, so she was able to attend tuition-free. My mom was a teacher there until she went back to school.” Deborah shrugged. “Want some, Fred?” 

“Oh yeah, thank you!” Fred took a piece of candy and took a bite. “Not bad, they’re nice and fluffy on the inside, and they're tasty.”

Deborah smiled and placed her face in her hands, watching Fred eat the candy. “As long as you like it, I’m happy.” 

Rosa secretly rolled her eyes but chuckled. She knew Deborah has a huge crush on Fred; since they were very little, Deborah would always tell Rosa that Fred was the kind of guy she would marry and have a family with. He was strong, brave (Rosa preferred to call him reckless instead of brave), stood up to what he thought was right, and handsome. This was before Rosa met Fred, so when Deborah finally introduced the two when they were ten years old… Rosa wasn’t too impressed. But she warmed up to him. Especially when she found out he was an avid sports fan. Now she had someone to talk to about sports; he wasn’t really into soccer, but he liked boxing and martial arts. Wrestling was also one of his favorites; Rosa was able to help him out a little with that. She had an uncle who owned a gym specializing in boxing, and another who trained wrestlers and hosted other martial artists there. Fred showed enthusiasm, even when he wasn’t too good at wrestling or boxing. But he persisted and was now showing improvement. The strength training he did was doing marvels for him during football practice.

“One large strawberry sundae?” A server with a tray arrived at their table and placed the dessert in front of Rosa.

“Thank you, can I also have three spoons please?” she asked. The server placed them on the table and walked away. She handed a spoon to Deborah and Fred before sliding the sundae between them. “Go ahead and have some before it melts, there’s enough to go around.”

All three of them were eating and talking without much problem until Fred saw Joe and Sam walking down the street together. Fred almost choked on his spoon before he started pounding on the window to get their attention. 

“Hey Joe, Sam!” He yelled. 

Joe and Sam turned back to see their friend Fred and crossed the street to go and see them. The two entered Ray’s and Fred quickly waved them over to the booth. Joe and Sam pulled up a couple of chairs and Rosa, Deborah and Fred quickly picked everything up as to make more room for Fred’s guests. 

“Hey guys, how’s it going?” said Joe as he eyed Rosa and Fred, giving the blond a small smirk. “Having fun with Spanish homework, Fred?” 

“We’ve already finished, Joe,” said Fred placing his spoon down and crossed his arms on the table. “Now we’re just eating.”

“Homework and lunch?” asked Sam, also grinning knowingly at Fred. “Aww, how sweet of you to take Rosa on a date.”     

“I thought it was just a study date…” Deborah’s face fell a little and she looked at Rosa for an answer.

Rosa was too busy stuffing her face with the strawberry sundae to know what was going on. 

“Don’t listen to these two, Deborah; it **is** a study date.” Fred slammed his fist on the table, now starting to look irritable. “I’m not even paying for the food. Rosa is!” 

“I thought we were going to split the bill!” Rosa retorted, also looking at Fred a little upset he was trying to skip out on the bill. "I don't get paid enough working at the gym to pay for everything, you know."

“I only have ten dollars.” 

“I can pay your part, Fred!” Deborah pulled out her wallet and looked for some money. “How much do you need: ten dollars, twenty?” 

“We can split it **three** ways too!” Rosa stopped the strawberry blonde from pulling out a twenty. “I don’t think we ordered too much food.”

“Hey Deborah, can you go up there and ask for the bill on Booth 7 please?” Fred smiled at her. "I'm still tired from football practice." 

“Sure, Fred! Just a minute!” Deborah got up and went off to go and ask for the bill. There was a line, so she was going to wait for a few minutes. 

“Sam, I have a question,” Rosa put down her spoon and looked at the messy-haired geek. “Is it true?”

“What?” asked Sam a little confused before the realization kicked in. “Oh yeah! It’s true. I’m assuming Deborah told you last night.” 

“No, I didn’t get the news from Deborah. Fred told me what happened at the meeting yesterday.” Rosa picked up a cherry and popped it into her mouth. “Thank goodness I wasn’t in the meeting. It sounded like an absolute mess!” 

“It was. But Vice President, Tiffany Madison got it her way whether we liked it or not.” Sam sulked in his seat, obviously looking upset. “Who cares if we don’t have enough money for the homecoming dance’s theme she wants… she’s one of the most popular girls in school. Everyone follows the It-Crowd like a bunch of mindless sheep. And if we don’t do things the way they see fit, guess who’s fault is it?”  

“You're right… Tiffany's already a handful to deal with.” Rosa sighed. “Not counting her little entourage and whatever shenanigans they pull while we’re trying to get things done during our meetings…” 

“Entourage?” asked Joe, a little bewildered.

“Mm-hmm.” Rosa nodded as she fixed her lace headband. “They’re the other popular girls who follow Tiffany around. I’m certain you’ve seen them before.” 

Joe shook his head in disagreement. “No, I have no idea who they are.” 

“Consider yourself lucky then Joe,” Rosa’s red-brown eyes glanced at him before turning to Sam and Fred. “Everyone else here, including myself, have the unfortunate luck of interacting with Tiffany and Co.”

“Tiffany and Co.?” 

“The nickname Deborah and I came up with to describe the popular girls.” Rosa scooted over and let Deborah sit down next to her. “Because it’s all about Tiffany and her little entourage.”

“Tiffany’s the leader of the pack. She’s also the head cheerleader, the Vice President of the student body, calls the shots for the decorations committee, and the school’s Queen Bee,” Deborah slid the bill towards Fred and lowered her voice to Joe. “Originally, Tiffany was supposed to be the President of SGA, but I heard the school principal caught someone stuffing the ballot boxes with Tiffany’s name on them last year.” 

“The middle school had another election and made sure to keep an eye on all ballots. When the results came in, Tiffany lost to Nancy by three votes,” said Rosa. 

“What happened to the guy who stuffed the ballot box?” Fred asked, now interested in the gossip. 

“What happened to _her_?” Deborah corrected Fred. “It’s pretty sad. Supposedly, she was a bit of an outcast, not really popular. But Tiffany was always super nice to her. This girl thought Tiffany was her best friend. During the election season, she was there to support Tiffany and helped her during her campaign as campaign manager. Laurie was not having it; because she’s Tiffany's, right-hand woman.”

“On the night before the election, Tiffany asked her for a favor.” Deborah took a napkin and opened it. Rosa gave her a pen. “She handed the girl a stack of ballots with her name checked off for president. If she did this one thing for her, she promised she’d get to be a part of her clique.” 

“Laurie Westwood has been Tiffany’s second in command for years and is Tiffany’s oldest friend. She didn’t like that new girl, not one bit. I’m not saying Laurie had something to do with the other girl getting caught stuffing the ballot box, but everyone knew she despised the other girl.”

“So what happened to her?” Fred asked.

Deborah shook her head slowly. “The girl tried to tell them she was asked by Tiffany to turn in the ballots. When Tiffany was called in, she acted like she never knew her. They called the other girls, and they also said they didn’t know her.” 

“Laurie told the staff this girl was just an obsessive outsider who wanted Tiffany to notice her, and somehow, that worked. The girl was never seen again, either due to the humiliation or because she got in serious trouble.” Rosa was quiet for a minute before speaking again.“But it’s just rumored, who knows if it's real!” 

“That’s why you have to be careful interacting with Tiffany and Co.” Deborah put down her pen and looked at Joe. “Everyone here has seen how nasty they can get; they’re bad news and shouldn’t be trusted.” 

“Like Jacqueline…” Sam quipped. “I don’t think I told you guys this, but the first time I was sent to tutor her, she handed her homework and started to walk out the door. As if I was supposed to DO her homework instead of helping her!” 

“I told Jacquline I was here to HELP not DO the work for her.” Sam pulled out a napkin and took the pen from Deborah’s hands. “She had the most confused look on her face, smiled and then dug into her purse and handed me forty dollars!”

“Seriously?” Rosa laughed. 

“Yes!” Sam exclaimed. “When I said I wasn’t going to be bribed like everyone else in the school, she got all surly.”          

“Look, Sam, if that was me I would’ve taken the forty bucks and not to the homework.” Fred shrugged. “But hey, I guess your love for teaching was stronger than a quick buck.”  

“She’s doing her hardest to get on my nerves.” Sam sighed deeply. “If it’s not cooperating during tutoring, she’d have her friends and followers try and make my day even more difficult.”   

“Oh, is that why you looked so upset this morning? Joe asked Sam. 

“Yes, because I had to tutor Jacqueline on her American History homework.” Sam pinched the bridge of his nose. “I understand if she didn’t want to be there on a Saturday morning; I had a Mathletes seminar in an hour and wanted to study instead of having to deal with her.” 

“What happened?” 

“Long story short, I left halfway through the tutoring session.” Sam took a deep sigh and slumped over on the table. “She said I would get in trouble, but by then I just wanted to get out and work on my Mathlete notes.”  

“Maybe you should’ve broken it down so she would understand it better?” said Joe, but when seeing the death glare Sam gave him, he quickly added, “I know you’re super smart and get so invested in what you do, but you do tend to make things sound more complicated than it should be.” 

“We’re on the first couple of chapters, it is not that difficult!” said Sam. “She’s just looking for someone to do the work for her!” 

“Okay, okay…” Joe backed down. “I didn’t mean it that way, Sam.” 

“Wouldn’t you be upset if you were performing a magic trick in front of an audience, and the audience is talking on their phone, texting, or sleeping?” 

“Well yeah, but magic tricks are fun and exciting!” 

Sam rolled his eyes but didn’t reply back to Joe. A silence fell over the five, as they shifted uncomfortably in their seats. They didn't know what to say to make Sam feel better. He felt ashamed over what happened, but they knew Sam didn't like it when anyone pushed him around. Especially if it was someone asking for help on a field he was knowledgeable in. 

Finally, Rosa broke the silence. 

"I think I should get going now. My _Tio Guamazo_ would want me back at 2." She got up to go. "I'll see you guys at school, Monday."

"I thought we were gonna box at the gym on Sunday?" Fred sounded a little disappointed.

"Can't. It's my great-grandma's birthday tomorrow and we're gonna throw her a huge party. She's turning 100."

"I wasn't invited?" Fred playfully asked her.

"Eh, they don't really know who you are." Rosa looked a little bashful. "If I bring you over they might think you're my boyfriend or something." 

"Oh." The blond said flatly and stopped joking. "Yeah, I guess you're right. You don't want to give them the wrong idea…" 

"Okay, gotta go now!" Rosa got up, placed some money on the table and waved goodbye.

"See you on Monday!" Deborah got up and gave Rosa a hug before letting her go. 

Rosa waved at the.one last time before running back in the direction of where her uncle's gym was located. 

Deborah sat back down and the table went silent again. Deborah was friendly with Fred, that was obvious. Maybe a little too friendly, but that was Deborah's issue. Joe and Sam knew Fred didn't want to be alone with her. Of course, Fred would try to wave it off. But the truth was that Fred was terrified of being alone with her. Fred knew Deborah harbored a long-time crush on him; at first, he shrugged it off as kid stuff. But now, it was starting to get harder to ignore. Any gesture or something he said could be misinterpreted as giving her a green light to play girlfriend. 

Deborah wasn't the only one too. So many girls have been flirting with him. Fred liked attention; he was the one who'd use _The Book_ in search of fame, riches, and glory. It was one thing to be treated like a king. It was another thing when a girl would bat her eyelashes and Fred would feel butterflies in his stomach.

_But it's not like Rosa was doing it intentionally… she just had naturally long, thick black eyelashes with dazzling red-brown eyes that glowed in the light…_

Fred cleared his throat and got up. "Well, I guess we'd better leave guys." 

"Huh?" Sam asked out loud before Joe elbowed him in the ribcage. Ow! I mean - oh right! I forgot I was supposed to help you guys with your science homework!" 

"That's okay, I need to go and see if my grandma needs me to go and pick something up from the store for dinner." Deborah set down a twenty and smiled. "It was nice seeing you again, Fred. I hope you don't give Sam that much trouble like Miss Clairmont did."  

"See you at school, Debbie!" said Fred. "And thanks for pitching in some money." 

"Here, take these!" Deborah handed Fred the box of Polish candies. "So Joe and Sam can try them out." 

"Aw, you don't have to do that."

"No, I insist!" Deborah pushed the box towards him and leaned closer. "I have four more boxes at home. I have way more than my fill for them." 

"Well then, thank you!" Fred smiled at her and took the box. "Joe, come help me carry this stuff!"

"Ew, I don't wanna carry your sweaty gym bag." Joe moaned before catching said gym bag Fred tossed at him. 

"Well, I have to carry my gear **and** food!"

"Tell Sam to carry the food!" 

"You've seen him lugging around those books and binders. It's like he skipped over the weekend and ready for Monday." 

"Fine, I'll carry the food too," Joe muttered to himself. "You're lucky we got some leftovers. Sam was gonna order Chinese." 

"I don't think these leftovers are gonna last between the three of us. Order Chinese just in case." 

"Fred, you just ate! And now you're drooling over Chinese takeout?" 

"Chill out Joe," Fred looked at the brunet with a concerned look on his face. "I didn't mean it so literally. What's going on with you?"

"Uh, it's nothing, Fred. I just had a bit of trouble sleeping last night." Joe pulled the strap over his shoulder and rubbed his eyes. "I'm sorry I flipped out on you like that…" 

"You sure?" Fred said as he waved goodbye to Deborah once again. 

"I'm positive. There's nothing wrong with me." Joe gave the blond a smile and the two followed after Sam who already had a head start.

However, Joe could’ve sworn he felt a pair of eyes staring daggers on his back. He shook off the feeling and continued walking. But the feeling of being watched started to come back. It was the same amount of dread and shock Jacqueline had when she saw the dark figure hovering over her.

The feeling got so unbearable that Joe turned around to see who was watching him. 

Nothing. The birds were singing, traffic was driving by and Sam and Fred were busy talking amongst each other. Joe gave one final look behind him before catching up with his friends. Maybe Sam was more willing to talk about what happened with Jacqueline at his place. Or maybe he won’t. 

It wouldn’t hurt to try…


End file.
